


What Comes After

by Julius



Category: The Girl With All The Gifts, The Girl with All the Gifts (2016), The Girl with All the Gifts - M. R. Carey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 06:31:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4614792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julius/pseuds/Julius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything comes to an end, and this end comes with the start of a new race.</p><p>This is my version of what happened after the book ended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Comes After

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Miss Justineau."

Helen smiles warmly at her class. She puffs out her chest in pride at how far they have all come. It has been 8 months ever since it had all gone down. 8 months since her first class outside Rosie. The smaller children already know how to talk. The teenagers also understand most things, but more often than not grow instead of talk.

Her teaching assistant, Melanie, helps the teenagers who are having trouble keeping up, and once a week goes on expeditions for food and books. Troy, as he was called by Melanie, accompanies her.

Helen is at the same time both happy and worried about that. On one hand, she understands the "human" need for comfort from the opposite sex. On the other hand, she feels the maternal instinct to keep Melanie as far away from boys as possible. She was too young. And for that reason she insisted on Melanie always sleeping with her. She was too young, and that was that.

Helen rubs her inflated belly. They all know what that means, but no one dares be the rude one to point it out. No one wants to think too hard on the implications a warm blooded human baby comes with.

"Miss Justineau!" says a very proud 7 year old called Mika. She was the first to pronounce 'Miss Justineau!' correctly, and doesn’t tire of showing it. Melanie would've been jealous of the attention if she wasn’t so proud of the little girl's progress.

"Yes, Mika?" asks Helen.

"Can you tells us the story of the box with the stuff?"

"Yes, Mika. I can tell you the story of Pandora again," says Helen making sure to emphasize the correct verb tense of tell.

Mika frowns, not at all happy at having done something wrong. The teacher placates her by lenghtning story time, explaining each part of the story and having a discussion about it.

Helen stops mid sentence at the sudden bizzare view. A fat man in a full body suit is running at full speed towards them. His head piece looks hastly put on. It looks like he was caught off guard with his head piece off by half the hungry population of the city.

Melanie pushes her into the van, and she quickly closes the door. But still, she looks out the window. And Mika, sweet Mika, and every single one of her stellar students run to join the chase.

The fat man realizes too late that he was running towards more hungries, not possible allies. Troy is the first to tackle the man and drive a diy knife through his neck. He leans down and bites a chunck off his shoulder.

Through it all, Helen calmly waits in the van, looking out the window. Melanie stays still close to the van, not daring to look at her teacher.

The man is now a corpse and the mindless hungries go back to their unnatural stillness.

Melanie enters the van, and Helen drives them through the streets until they lose the hungries again. They expect the children to go back to their homes on their own.

They both lay down on a bed, and go to sleep.

 

* * *

 

It is a month later when Miss Justineau doesn’t show up for class.

Troy stays with the children to make sure little Mike doesn’t get bullied, and Melanie goes in search of her teacher.

Afterwards Melanie will think she should've known it would eventually happen. It had only been a matter of time. Poor Miss Justineau had been alone in the world. Even with her loyal company, Melanie knew it wasn’t enough. There weren't any other adults, nor any other humans. Scavenged food wouldn’t last forever, and there was the life growing inside of her to think of.

But now, Melanie is in denial as she sniffs out the chemical scent trail of Rosie. She runs in her usual pace, and knocks once she gets there.

Afterwards, Melanie will remember how Miss Justineau had sobbed and smiled and hugged her the night before. She'd said she loved her. She said how proud she was of the woman she would eventually become. They shared stories of how the children were doing. She had even given Melanie a crash course in teaching. More of a review, really.

But now, she pushes open the door, then opens the door to the communal bedroom. Miss Justineau's body laid on one bed, her inflated belly now deflated. On her chest there was an infant and a letter. Both bodies lacked a pulse, and the little bottles on the floor only confirms what Melanie already knew.

She pockets the letter, and runs back to the group of children.

"You're dismissed for today," she says. Some cheer, but most groan. Today was story day. No one missed story day.

She grabs Troy's hand and silently pulls him back to the van. She goes in alone, Troy used to not being allowed in, and grabs two shovels from the tool box.

Troy starts digging. Melanie grabs body suits and dresses both Miss Justineau and her child. She finishes digging the grave by herself, and with the outmost care lowers the bodies into it. She makes sure the mother's arms are around her child, then starts to fill the hole.

That same day she comissions the children to find a square big rock for her. Its all shrieking and laughing as they get a new game to play.

Little Mike ends up bringing home the biggest square rock. Melanie throws Mika a glare, warning her not to mention Troy is standing behind Mike, holding up most of the weight. His little smile is enough to melt anyones heart.

Melanie uses various pointy objects from the lab to finely write on the rock she positions above the grave.

As the sun sets, Melanie finally drops to her knees and sobs and screams for her dead mentor.

Troy comes to hug her, and says, "Goodbye, Miss Justineau. I will take care of her for you. I promise."

The perfect syntax. The near perfect accent. All of Miss Justineau's work goes straight to Melanie's heart, and makes her eye ducts explode in tears. Real, wet tears. It is an absolute overload that circles and repeats itself, each time coming in worse.

Eventually, the tears stops. Melanie leans into Troy, hugging him back, and thinks 'It's finally the start of a new race.'


End file.
